Art of establishing subaqueous foundations.



PATENTED FEB. 17, 1903.

' H.1BEGKER. ART 015 ESTABLISHING SUBAQUEOUS FOUNDATIONS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7, 1902 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I0 MODEL.

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. No. 72o,99v.- I PATENTED FEB. 17,1903.

E. BECKER.

ART OF ESTABLISHING SUBAQUEOUS FOUNDATIONS.

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' No. 120,997. BATBNTED FEB. 17,1903; B. BECKER. i ART OF ESTABLISHINGSUBAQUEOUS FOUNDATIONS.

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PATENTED FEB. 17, 1903.

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APPLICATION FILED OUT. 7, 1902.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

I0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

EDMUND BECKER, OF VVASHING'I ON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

ART OF ESTABLISHING SUBAQUE OUS FOUNDATIONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 720,997, dated February17, 1903.

Application filed October 7, 1902.

To all whom it petty concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND BECKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at 'Wash ington, District of Columbia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in the Art of Establishing SubaqueousFoundations, as set forth in the following specification.

My invention relates more particularly to the pneumatic or plenumprocess of establishing foundations, with the view of specially adaptingsuch process to the carrying out of the method described in myapplication filed May 10, 1902, since become Patent No. 710,658.According to said prior application the tower or pier to be erected musthave an extended footing, which may be solid or hollow and the detailconstruction of which is not set forth, as said prior application ispurely generic and contemplates the use of different systems of sinkingaccording to circumstances and conditions. When the pneu matic or plenumprocess is the one to be used, this ex-= tended footing must be built asan air-caisson and, according to the usual practice, it would require achamber substantially such as diagrammatically shown in Figure l of thesaid patentthat is, SllffiClGDhlY large to give access to all parts ofthe seaebottom that may be covered by the footing. lhe use of anair-chamber so extensive would call for special precautions of a kindwell known in the art to insure that the steps of my process shall becarried out with that degree of certainty which I deem desirable. Thusif the sea be rough and the structure is expected to pitch or rollenough to raise the edge of the footing clear out of the water theengineer in charge wonlchas a matter of course, add a temporary ors'o-called false bottom to be used during the floating operation and tobe taken off before grounding, its sole purpose being to retain the airand keep out the water while the structure is in transit from the placeof construction to destination. Moreover, after the structure has beengrounded the engineer would load it with auxiliary ballast to keep itfirmly grounded during the excavating operation, when the caisson has tobe filled with air.

The principal objects of my present invention are to make the use of afalse bottom optional and to also avoid during the exca- Serial No 126,272. (No model.)

vating operation the necessity for any other ballast than water. Iattain these and other useful objects by the use of separate aircompartments or chambers which constitute as many small independentcaissons that may be worked singly or together at will, and each ofthese small caissous or chambers is preferably subdivided by verticalpartitions into smaller communicating chambers, which I shallhereinafter call cells.

One great advantage of this practice is that the water contained in theuuworked chambers virtually. acts as ballast and that the sinking of thefooting into the soil at dilferent parts of its periphery can, as I havediscovered, be controlled at will by Working the chambers seriatim in'acertain order. The sinking may further be controlled by shifting solidballast, which may be moved from one chamber to the other or taken outentirely should it be desired to refioat the stru'ctureto change itslocation. With water or solid ballast acting on one side to sink thefooting and air in the opposite side to buoy it upthe structure caneasily be tilted about a horizontal axis to level the footing andrighten the superstructure. The righting moment is dependent more uponthe leverage than upon the magnitude of the righting forces, andtherefore efforts which with the relatively narrow foundation of the oldpractice would be inefficient are by my system made highlyimportantauxiliaries in the process of erection. Moreover, the righting momentsrequired in my system are comparatively small, because the caisson isnever sunk to any great depth into the soil. Furthermore, as my caissoncan perfectly well be sunk while inclined righting is not necessary andis not resorted to until t'he end of the sinking operation; i In thisrespect my practice differs materiallyfromtheold,in which greatprecautions must be taken to guide the caisson in its descent and tokeep itas nearly plumb as possible throughout the whole of the sinkingoperation.

A further important advantage of my in vention is that the partitionscan be and are designed to divide up the mass of water that may becontained in the footing during the floating operation and toeffectually prevent such mass, especially when a false bottom is used,from rushing bodily from side to side in synchronism with thewavesaction which might endanger the stability of the structure.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters are applied tosimilar parts, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a light-towerembodying the principles of this and my prior application. Fig. 2 is aninverted plan of the footing, showing the same divided into eightsector-shaped chambers, each forming an independent caisson elementwhich is subdivided into six communicating cells. Fig. 3 is aperspective diagram view of one of the chambers. Fig. 4: is a viewsimilar to Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, but limited to one of thechambers and showing one of the cells thereof filled with removablesolid ballast. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation on line 5 5 of Fig. 2,showing how the removable hallast is supported within the footing. Fig.6 on Sheet 2 is an inverted plan of a modified form of sector subdividedinto three separate chambers, each of which has its own air-pipe and canbe worked as an independent airchamber and to a certain extent as aninde pendent caisson element. Figs. 7 and 8 show preferred forms ofauxiliary floats to be used only where the sea is very rough or wherethe footing is not in itself sufficiently buoyant. Figs. 9 and 10 show amodified form of tower and footingin which the intermediate part of thestructure is subdivided into four diverging columns which serve as fourseparate airshafts.

A represents a light-tower provided with an integral extended footing O,embodying the principles of my application above referred to, as well asthose of the present application. As seen in Fig. 1, the structureappears as it is after completion of the fourth or grounding operationof the process disclosed in my said prior application. The operationsthat remain to be performed are the fifth, or excavating to sink thefooting into and flush with the soil, and the sixth, or completing thetower.

In Fig. 1 the uncompleted part of the tower is indicated in dotted linesand is supposed to have been omitted to reduce draftand permit of towingthe structure over shoals from the place of construction to the place offinal erection and also to give the structure as much floating stabilityas possible.

The footing C, as seen in Fig. 2, is octagonal in plan view and isdivided by eight vertical radial bulkheads B into eight sectorshapedcompartments or caisson elements G to G which I shall hereinafter callchambers- Each of these chambers communicates with a central chamber orvestibule D by means of a manhole, which may be hermetically closed by adoor 9, mounted so it may be opened from either side, and the locks onthe gates are further provided with rods, (indicated in the figure bydotted line g',) which rods may be led to any other part of thestructure from which it may be found desirable to unlock the doors.Leading upward from vestibule D is an air-shaft a,

made not wider than required to admit materials and men and in which isfixed a vertical ladder Z. At the upper end of the shaft a is anair-lock E, which opens onto a platform N, preferably at a higher levelthan the water on the outside. On platform N are mounted the pumping andother machinery that may be required to work the caissons. Thismachinery being of the ordinary kind has been omitted from theillustration. Between shaft a and the inner walls of the tower A is thusleft a space b, which may be hermetically closed or else left tocommunicate freely with the atmosphere through a hatch in platform N.This space 1) is eventually used for storing either water or solidballast, as will be explained hereinafter. Each of the eightsector-shaped chambers or caisson elements has a pipe 70, leading fromthe extreme farther end near the ceiling radially inward, then upward inthe tower A, up through platform N, where it is provided with athree-way cock e, by means of which the said pipe may be entirely closedor connected with the air-pump to admit air into the caisson element oropened to let air escape from the caisson into the atmosphere.

At the inner end each caisson element has a cock q, whichis preferablyoperated through a connection from platform N and which may be opened toallow the air of the caisson to escape when the footing O is inclinedand the air of the caisson collects at the inner end of the chamber.

Each one of the caisson elements or chambersis subdivided into smallercommunicat-- ing cells by a radial partition h and transverse partitionst' 2'. Openings 'Lblfl the transverse partitions t' 't' and aninterruption at the inner end of radial partition h permit the men tomove about freely in each chamber or caisson element from cell to cell.During the floating operation openings u should remain closed, andtherefore I provide partitions h and v; with small openings r, by meansof which the air-pressure of each chamber is equalized throughout allits cells.

Partitions h and 7: might be made removable and might be entirelyremoved immediately after grounding; but I prefer to retain them, sothey shall serve as permanent stifieners of the footing. Some of thecells, preferably those adjoining the periphery of the footing, have ontheir radial walls near the bottom cleats t, upon which the ballast Krests. This ballast, which can be fixed to the foundation in any mannerand which adds to the weight of the footing, can be of stone, concrete,or metal. I have shown it as of cast-iron bars, because cast-iron isthree times denser than masonry and is more easily handled. I have shownit at and near the periphery, because it is there in the place mostadvantageous to the stiflness of the foundation and counteracts theweight of the superstructure at the center. This ballast is not put inplace until the foundation has been sunk into the soil to the requireddepth.

The footing and the greater part of the tower A having been built andthe platform N fitted with pumps and other necessary machinery, thedoors g and u and cocks e and having been closed, the structure islaunched and towed to the place of final erection for grounding. Duringthe launching operation enough air is imprisoned in the footing to floatthe structure.

Any tendency the water in the chambers might have to rush about withinthe foundation during rolling and pitching while the structure is afloatis interfered with by the partitions B, i, h. This confinement of thewater also serves to prevent any important loss of air whenever thestructure rolls or pitches enough to lift one of its edges clear out ofthe Water.

Any losses of air through leakage or otherwise being compensated for bythe working of the pumps, the structure can easily stand a very roughsea. However, asa safeguard a false bottom could be added, as is done inthe usual practice.

When the structure has reached destination, it is sunk by allowing theinclosed air to escape first by opening cocks e and q. The whole footingthen fills with water, and

the space b also fills with water, which comes.

through the open cocks q. When the inside level is the sermons theoutside level, cocks q are closed to retain the water in space E), whichwater serves as ballast to hold the structure grounded. Should thestructure be refloated for any reason, the water in b is expelled.Although the water in I) would not generally be heavy enough to keep thestructure down when all the chambers are filled with air, I prefer tonot fill b with solid ballast until it is certain that the foundationneed not be refloated, and therefore during the excavating operation airshould be forced only in those chambers that require it for working themor for exerting a buoyant action, as explained earlier. The means to beused for excavating and for removing the ex cavated material will dependupon the nature of the soil to be removed and, being of the usualconstruction, is not illustrated. Should any wreck or other obstructionprevent sink-.

ing and it be impractical to remove the same, the structure can berefioated.

When the structure has been brought into the position desired, anyspaces left between the soil and the ceiling of the caisson shouldpreferably be filled with solid material to take the load off thecutting edge, and thereby secure the foundation. When the soil isof easypenetration, the caisson will sink therein until stopped by contact ofthe soil with the ceiling of the caisson. In such case no excavating isrequired except for righting. In filling I prefer to use kentledge K forthe peripheral.

cells, as shown in Fig. 4, and the rest of the footing may be filledwith sand or concrete.

The necessity for a false bottom can be entirely avoided by making thecells of a charmoer non-communicatingthat is, by closing openings 7'. Inthis case each cell should have its own air-pipe, and it becomes then anindependent air-chamber. This form of construction is shown in Fig. 6,Sheet 2, in which the space corresponding to one of the chambers of Fig.2 is divided by bulkheads B 0' into three chambers G G G, provided,respectively, with independent ai r-tubes, which are indicated in thedrawings by dotted lines Z0 k 16 and which are in every respect similarto pipes in. Bulkhead C is provided with doors g and g, which can beclosedhermetically. The chambers G G G, with the corresponding centralchamber or vestibule, constitute twenty-five separate air-chambers, eachhaving relatively great height and little horizontal extent, so thatwhen the structure is afloat and rolls or pitches any chamber which wasemerged during alurch is on coming back to the water at any anglepossible in practice again water-sealed before it has lost anyappreciable amount of air.

When the footing has considerable extent, the tower or pier part of thestructure may be considerably widened without fear. of spreading scourto the edge of the footing. There is no object in making the tower widerthan necessary for interior room and for stiifness; but it is well whenpracticable to strengthen the connection of the tower with the footingby an easement, such as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4:. The size of thiseasement will depend upon conditions. If current and scour be small, theeasement can be increased to extend to the extreme edge of and itselfconstitute the footing. As explained in my Patent No. 710,658, abovementioned, any dosirable degree of stability can be obtained byhorizontally extendin g the footing, and as the extension can in thesystem herein described be made by adding chambers or by extending theoriginal chambers stability and buoyancy can both be increased at willand at the same time; but when the footing G is made of littlehorizontal extent or when for any other reason it .has very littleexcess of buoyancy and it becomes desirable to increase the buoy ancy ofthe structure to secure its safety in all weather and against mishaps Iprovide auxiliary fioats proportioned to keep the structure afloatevenwhen the foundation is filled with water. This feature isillustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 in the form of two floats attached on topof the footing 0. Where scour is to action.

The fastening means shown comprises loose IIO pintle-hingesjj andj'j.WVhen the structure has been launched in still water, it can of coursebe made to float without the aid of the chambers M. These are thenbrought alongside and can be easily tilted to bring theirhingesectionsjinto working relation with the correspondinghinge-sections j, fixed to the footing G, and the pintles O are drivenin. The two floats are then thrown over about their hinges jj onto thefooting, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 7,and the hinge-sections9" j are connected by a second pintle O. Hinges j j act not as hinges,but merely as fasteners, and can be replaced by any other form offastener.

When the current is strong and it becomes desirable to reduce thesection of the tower to a minimum, I use a multicolumnar towerthat is tosay, I divide up the intermediate part of the structure into a number ofparallel or inclined towers of greatly-reduced section. A preferred formof this construction is shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

10, and is divided by bulkheads B into four caisson elements or chambersG11 G G13 G each of which is again subdivided by partitions 71 into foursmall communicating cells similar to those of Fig. 2.

Rising substantially from the middle of each of the chambers G G G G arefour hollow columns L L L L, which are of suflicient diameter to allowthe passage of materials and men and which serve as four separateair-shafts. They lead above into airlocks E and through these to asuitable platform, which corresponds in function to the platform N ofFig. 1. The process of erection is substantially the same as for thestructure of Fig. 1, even as to the use of floats, if these benecessary.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A subaqueous foundation comprising an extended base and bulkheadsprojecting downwardly from the periphery and from intermediate parts ofthe said base to form separate air-chambers open below and adapted to beoperated independently on the plenum system, and other vertical but openpartitionsin each of said chambers to equalize the airpressure in eachchamber and serving with the intermediate bulkheads to prevent thecontained water from rushing bodily about within the structure.

2. A caisson consisting of a chamber open below and vertical air-tightpartitions to divide the chamber into separate caisson elements, anair-shaft common to all the caisson elements, each caisson element beingprovided with a hermetically-closing door leading to the commonair-shaft.

3. A tower or pier having an integral extended base provided withdownwardly-extending bulkheads to form a caisson-chamber under the baseand also provided with detachable floats.

Here the footing is square, as seen in the inverted plan Fig.

4. A subaqueous foundation comprising two or more pillars united underwater, sub stantially at the level of the submerged ground, by afootingwhich extends laterally beyond range of the scour that may obtain aboutany one, or all, of the said pillars.

5. A marine structure comprising a tower or pier with an integrallaterally-extended base and bulkheads projecting downwardly from theperiphery and from intermediate parts of the said base, to form separateairchambers open below.

6. A marine structure comprising a tower or pier with an integrallaterally-extended base and bulkheads projecting downwardly from theperiphery and from intermediate parts of the said base, to form separateairchambers open below and adapted to be operated independently by theplenum system.

7. A pneumatic caisson divided into adjacent caisson elements and anair-shaft common to all of the said elements.

8. A marine structure comprising a tower or pier with an integrallaterally-extended base, consisting of a caisson comprising sepa rateair-chambers adapted to be operated independently by the plenum system.

9. A marine structure comprising a tower or pier with an'integrallaterally-extended base consisting of a chamber open below and havingvertical air-tight partitions to divide the-chamber into separatecaisson elements.

10. A marine tower or pier having its lower part extended in the shapeof a peripheral series of chambers, each chamber being adapted to beindependently filled with air and ballast in any proportion.

11. A marine tower or pier having its lower part extended in the shapeof a peripheral series of chambers, each chamber being open below andadapted to be independently filled with air and ballast in anyproportion.

12. The combination with a marine tower or pier, of a footing havingperipheral chambers, said footing being extended horizontally away fromthe tower or pier to secure great leverage for the vertical forces/thatact on the chambers.

13. The combination with a marine tower or pier of a footing havingperipheral chambers open below, said footing being extended horizontallyaway from the tower or pier to secure great leverage for the verticalforces that act on the chambers.

14. A marine tower or pier having a substantially flat footing extendedto afford sufficient support for the completed structure, when restingon the surface of the submerged soil where the structure is to beerected, said footing having bulkheads projecting downwardly from itsunder face to form air-chambers open below.

15. A marine tower or pier having a substantially fiat footing extendedto afford sufficient support for the completed structure, when restingon the surface of the submerged soil where the structure is to beerected, said IIO air chamber or chambers open below and transverseobstructions arranged at intervals Within said chamber or chambers andadapted to prevent any water that may be contained in the footing fromrushing about in synchronism with the oscillations of the structure.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.-

EDMUND BECKER.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH BECKER, MARY E. C WELL.

